Bar Pushdown

How to Perform the Bar Pushdown

Attach a straight bar to the high pulley of a cable machine.
Stand facing the machine with feet shoulder-width apart, grabbing the bar with an overhand grip.
Position your elbows at your sides, bent at roughly 90 degrees, with your forearms parallel to the floor.
Keeping your upper arms stationary and elbows pinned to your sides, push the bar downward by extending your elbows.
Continue pressing until your arms are fully extended and your triceps are fully contracted.
Squeeze the triceps hard at the bottom for a one-second count.
Slowly allow the bar to return to the starting position under control, stopping when your forearms are parallel to the floor.
Repeat for the prescribed number of reps without moving your elbows or shoulders.

Letting the elbows drift forward during the movement

Lock your elbows at your sides and only allow movement at the elbow joint for proper tricep isolation.

Using momentum by leaning over the bar

Stand upright with a slight forward lean and use only your triceps to move the weight.

Not fully extending the arms at the bottom

Push all the way down to full elbow lockout and squeeze the triceps to maximize muscle activation.

✓Effectively isolates all three heads of the triceps with constant cable tension.
✓Easy to learn and perform with a low risk of injury, suitable for all levels.
✓Quick and easy weight adjustments make it ideal for drop sets and intensity techniques.

●Use a controlled tempo — 2 seconds down, 1 second hold, 2 seconds up — for maximum time under tension.
●Keep your wrists straight and neutral throughout the movement to protect the wrist joint.
●Try standing slightly further from the machine for a different angle of resistance.

Strength

3-4 sets of 6-8 reps

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 10-15 reps

Endurance

2-3 sets of 15-20 reps

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